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Cancer

Around the age of 31, I started a new ritual; waking up and announcing my gratitude aloud. It seemed silly and I didn’t even say it aloud at first, worried my bedroom furniture would judge me as some new-age, hippy-dippy, crystal worshiping doofus. The improvement was immediate though not significant. I in fact, didn’t realize…

Every day is the anniversary of something. Not all of them have a pointed, clear memory pushing to the surface, reminding you why it’s an anniversary. But each year you age, the calendar becomes more and more a mine field of special anniversarys. December 6th is a special one for me…it’s the anniversary of the…

There’s a lot in life we can look back at and be proud of (and ashamed of). We all have our talents, gifts, lucky moments. My life has been filled with excitement and an almost constant hunt for new experiences, so I have a fairly large mental photo album of interesting images, and film clips…

I was never the soft one. I had the harsh edges and the strong opinions. A bit on the Asperger’s scale, what’s in front of my face is the most important thing in the world at the moment, and sometimes it’s hard for people like me to think about consequences. It’s haunted me my entire…

Last week on our scheduled sojourn through Oncology land, we were blindsided by an abnormally low mature white blood cell count, thwarting treatment. After a week of carefully hydrating, eating immunity boosting foods, and getting ample rest, Gretel knocked the test out of the park, more than doubling the count. Sadly, her greatest motivation was…

I’ve seen the phenomena before without realizing what it was. It never occurred to me that I could dig past the obvious and find a hidden well of emotion–or, perhaps it did and I just avoided doing it. A lone tear sliding down someone’s cheek can be written off as so many things, particularly when…

I can only imagine how impossible it must feel for someone who has to face clients when in this situation. The reality of dealing with the daily agony of a sick, possibly terminal loved one, then having to go to work, facing clients, buyers, even workmates with a smile on your face has to…

Yeah…there’s no silver lining. Anyone who’s ever flown through a cloud bank knows it’s just water vapor. Hope has shown up, weaker each day as reality kicks its ass and my silver linings have proven to be just that–vapor, shadow, smoke and mirrors. The Dalai Lama says “I find hope in the darkest of days,…

Gretel walked to the edge of the course and squinted down range, holding her hand above her knockoff, Ferragamo sunglasses to see past the noonday glare. “I can’t even see the target,” she said without turning as a gentle breeze lifted the golden curls from her shoulder. She closed her eyes and delighted in…

rare: rer/ adjective (of an event, situation, or condition) not occurring very often. As far as the English language goes, it’s a simple word. Four letters, one syllable–an innocuous word when not applied to a noun. But, throw a noun into the mix and you have something either really good or really bad. Example: Rare…

Dear Amazon, Hi. It’s me…S.L. Shelton. I don’t know if you remember me but I was one of your Bestselling Political Thriller authors recently (In fact, last year all of my books were Kindle Top 10 Political, Conspiracy, Espionage, Techno and/or Military Bestsellers). I don’t blame you if you’ve forgotten about me. I know you’re…

I have a headache. Not your run of the mill stress headache, or springtime sinus pressure. This is an ice pick to the base of the skull that radiates up and around, caressing the ear and jaw, producing guitar feedback grade tinnitus, then burrows under the eye, making me feel like leaning forward might make…

The grass grew fast after the last few days of rain, rising above the bottom step of the terrace. I stood on the porch and breathed the hot, pollen filled air before coughing…then sneezing. Just being out there made me tired. The only things growing faster than the grass were the weeds and my exhaustion.…

How do we focus on taking care of ourselves when there are so many temptations in the world ready to help us do the opposite? Uhg. Life is precious. Each moment is a bright and shining gift that should be treasured, yada, yada, yada. We’ve all heard it before and it obviously hasn’t moved us.…

You are by far the most important thing in my life…you have been from the beginning. Even before I knew you, I was searching for you, making you the center of my existence long before I ever saw your face. You are my greatest journey. You accepted me from the beginning as I was,…

What do you do when the only person you’ve ever been able to fully express your emotions with, can’t be there anymore. Stop Crying. When you spend your whole life adjusting your personality to filter your emotions, it must be a special person who succeeds in unprogramming that trait. A harsh father, years of military…

Like a slow knife penetrating the gut, the doctor’s test result briefing was bad–though we didn’t understand most of his terms, we could tell by the expression on his face that there wasn’t much in the way of good news. But then came a word we recognized; tumor. The thing about cancer is that it’s…